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I, 3.
LIVING IN THE PALACE.
So now the king having begotten a royal prince, these marks of prosperity were seen; and because of such a concourse of propitious signs, the child was named Siddhartha ?. 143
And now his royal mother, the queen Mâyâ, beholding her son born under such circumstances, beautiful as a child of heaven, adorned with every excellent distinction, 144
From excessive joy which could not be controlled died, and was born in heaven. Then Pragâpati Gautami, beholding the prince, like an angel, 145
With beauty seldom seen on earth, seeing him thus born and now his mother dead, loved and nourished him as her own child; and the child regarded her as his mother. 146
So as the light of the sun or the moon, little by little increases, the royal child also increased each day in every mental excellency and beauty of person ; 147
(His body exhaled) the perfume of priceless sandal wood, (decorated with the famed Gambunada gold (gems); divine medicines (there were) to preserve him in health, glittering necklaces upon his person; 148
The members of tributary states, hearing that
v
1 The description here given of the peace and content prevailing in the world on the birth of Bodhisattva (and his name given to him in consequence) resembles the account of the golden age in classic authors.
* Måyå is generally stated to have died after seven days from the birth of her child. But here the context seems to require a longer interval, as he was ten days old when taken to the temple. Mâyâ was born in the Trayastrimsas Heaven, or the Heaven of the Thirtythree Gods. The legend states that Buddha after his enlightenment proceeded there to convert her.
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| SR No. | 007676 |
| Book Title | Text of Confucianism Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | James Legge |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1882 |
| Total Pages | 2405 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 43 MB |